One of my favorite events returns to Disney’s Hollywood Studios on May 16, 2014 – Star Wars Weekends! Today, I’m delighted to give you a first look at some of the new merchandise we’ve created for this year’s event. I also have some details about a new merchandise ticketed event coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios on May 15, the day before Star Wars Weekends officially opens. I’ll share more about that event in a moment, but first let’s take a look at the new merchandise poster.

“This year’s merchandise poster contains a few nods to the upcoming Disney XD animated series ‘Star Wars Rebels,” explained Disney Design Group artist Tyler Dumas. “The color orange in the poster was inspired by the ‘Star Wars Rebels’ series’ logo, while the non-specific battle scene is supposed to take place between the events of Episode III and IV. This is similar to the storyline of the upcoming animated series. We also included a Star Speeder 1000 and R2-MK as tributes to Disney Parks.”

This poster will be used on a variety of items including the ever popular Disney pins. The Disney pin team will also release a few other items like concept artwork cards with pins, a limited release mystery set and, my favorite, a Battle of Yavin lanyard with medal.

The toy team created several new items this year including a limited edition figures set; a lenticular 1,000-piece puzzle; a Jabba the Hutt latex character; and a Queen Amidala and Princess Leia Deluxe Fashion Set.

The limited release Vinylmation mystery series Star Wars: Series 4 will also debut during Star Wars Weekends. Look for a limited edition 9-inch and 3-inch figure set featuring the Rancor and his keeper this year.

To round out the preview, the arts and collectibles team have designed four medium-sized figures (Pluto dressed as an AT-AT is my favorite!).

I promised some details about a merchandise ticketed event on Thursday, May 15. The “Rebel Rendezvous” will be held between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Attendees will receive exclusive access to Darth’s Mall one day before it opens to the public; a limited edition recruitment pack with items like a custom messenger bag, cadet hat, tumbler, lanyard, pin and medal set; preferential opportunity to purchase select 2014 Star Wars Weekends merchandise; and special meet and greet opportunities with characters and Disney artists.

Registration for the event will begin on March 4, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. EST at www.DisneyParksMerchandise.com, but you can visit the site now for additional details and restrictions. A catalog with additional merchandise images will be published on March 4.

Do you love rides as much as I do? Then you’re in for a treat if you’re joining us in Alaska this summer!

If you’ve been following along with our “Mom’s Take” videos about our Alaskan voyages, by now you know there’s no shortage of adventure in the destinations we visit. In today’s video, Nancy from the Disney Parks Moms Panel shows you how your family can experience the great outdoors through unique and exhilarating rides … and I’m not talking about the kind of rides you’ll experience in one of our theme parks. I’m talking about wild rides, ones suited to the rugged terrain and wilderness of America’s Last Frontier!

For more on sailing to Alaska with Disney Cruise Line, check out the other videos in the series:

Keep an eye on the Disney Parks Blog and Disney Cruise Line Facebook page, and follow @DisneyCruise on Twitter for more about Disney Cruise Line’s voyages in Alaska. While you’re on Twitter, join in the conversation by using the hashtag #DCLAlaska.

Beginning today, February 28, 2014 through March 31, 2014, if you tweet how you’ll be showing your “Disney Side” during the summer and include #DisneySideSweepsEntry you’ll have an opportunity to win a coast-to-coast 7-day / 6-night Disney Parks vacation for four and attend our Rock Your Disney Side 24-Hour event during Memorial Day Weekend. If you win, you’ll enjoy a back-to-back stay at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida followed by Disneyland Resort in California. The Grand Prize includes a $800 Disney Gift Card, two days with a VIP Tour Guide and theme park tickets.

For your entry to be valid, you must follow either @WaltDisneyWorld or @Disneyland on Twitter. Also, please limit one entry per person, per account, each day.

We just launched our first tweets on @WaltDisneyWorld and @Disneyland. We’ll notify the potential winner on or about April 4, 2014. Here’s a link to the sweepstakes rules. Please read them before you enter. Good luck.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited. Open only to persons, who are, as of Entry, legal residents of, and physically located within, the 50 U.S., D.C. or Canada (excluding Quebec) and who have reached the age of majority in their primary state or province of residence. Sweepstakes starts 12:00:01 AM (ET) on 2/28/14; ends 11:59:59 PM (ET) on 3/31/14. Click here for Official Rules.

On Friday, we shared a tweet that truly featured 140 characters to officially announce the latest Disney Parks bicoastal, All-Night Extravaganza on Memorial Day Weekend – the traditional start of the family travel season. Our “Rock Your Disney Side Party” will be a fun-filled 24-hour event at both Disneyland Resort in California and Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

For the Ultimate Tweet, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto and 135 of their friends gathered at Magic Kingdom Park and formed the familiar shape of a hashtag. The 140 characters then invited you and your family to “Rock Your Disney Side” during a 24-hour party to kick off summer.

At this year’s All-Night Extravaganza, everyone is being invited to show their “Disney Side” by dressing as a favorite Disney hero or villain. The Magic Kingdom Park in Florida and Disneyland park and Disney California Adventure park in California will be filled with Disney heroes and villains from 6 a.m., May 23 to 6 a.m., May 24, 2014, local time.

The celebration on both coasts will feature a cavalcade of events showcasing the good-vs.-evil of classic Disney stories including character meet-and-greets throughout the parks, special entertainment, event merchandise and special food and beverage offerings.

Keep checking the Disney Parks Blog and rockyourdisneyside.com for more details and information as we get closer to the All-Night Extravaganza on May 23. And let us know who you’ll be dressing up as – hero or villain?

CORRECTION: Mother’s Day reservations are accepted beginning March 12, not March 11 as previously stated.

Mom’s special day isn’t until May 11, but you can soon begin making plans to pamper her at Disneyland Resort.

If you are looking for brunch options, Storytellers Cafe at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa and Disney’s PCH Grill at Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel make great choices. Highlights at Storytellers Cafe include made-to-order omelets, brioche French toast with blackberry compote, roasted salmon with tangerine vinaigrette and carved beef (we’re partial to the corned beef hash with poached eggs and chipotle orange hollandaise). Disney’s PCH Grill features a smoked Scottish salmon station, parfait yogurt station, roasted chicken and vegetables and all the breakfast fixin’s, from fluffy scrambled eggs to huevos rancheros. Kids get their own buffet, including Mickey Mouse waffles. Cost for both locations is $33.99, $16.99 ages 3 to 9 11. Please note that the Mother’s Day Brunch previously held at the Disneyland Hotel will no longer be available.

Other restaurants are creating special dishes just for Mother’s Day. In Disneyland park, Carnation Cafe is serving seared mahi mahi with spinach orzo and a shrimp broth. Plaza Inn will serve a spicy glazed salmon with chipotle-pineapple glaze, veggies and mushroom quinoa, and the special at Blue Bayou is crab-stuffed shrimp with tomato-artichoke sauce.

If you’re a regular Disney Parks Blog reader, you’re certainly familiar with one of our guests’ favorite places at Magic Kingdom Park: the Central Plaza area between the end of Main Street and Cinderella Castle. Well, we’ve just begun a project that’ll make it even better. We’re adding several new elements to the area, including sculpted gardens, additional pathways, expanded restaurant seating and even a special viewing area for fireworks and other performances.

Look closely at our fly-through video and you’ll notice that the enhancements will include new trees and more landscaping in the Central Plaza area. The sculpted gardens planned for the location are inspired by the lush grounds seen around European castles and chateaus.

To make it easier to move around, two additional pathways will be built around the plaza.

From Disney California Adventure to New Fantasyland, we have a long-standing track record of being able to make enhancements while maintaining the magic of the Disney experience, and we look forward to continuing that tradition with this work.

This multi-phase enhancement project has already begun and it’ll be completed in 2015.

“David Wise, you’ve just won the first-ever gold medal in ski halfpipe, what are you going to do next?” Well, you know the rest, right?

On Tuesday, we caught up with the Wise family on Matterhorn Way, where Mickey Mouse stopped by to say hello.

Just one week earlier, David made headlines around the world when he took home the first gold medal for halfpipe skiing. David’s wife, Lexi, made the trip to Sochi, but they were only reunited with their two year-old, Nayeli, the day before their Disneyland trip. How much more could there be to celebrate? Well, it also happened to be David and Lexi’s wedding anniversary!

If I had to sum up the reaction of Disneyland Resort guests as they encountered us taking this picture of David at Sleeping Beauty Castle, I would say, as so many of them did, “Congratulations, David – way to go!”

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